Here we are, the last chapter of this story…sob…I won't keep you, so enjoy!

Kairi paced up and down the white sands of the beach, her ears sensitized to every single sound: the shore birds calling out to one another, the waves crashing against the shore, the trees rustling in the light breeze. In all honesty though, the only sound that Kairi wanted to hear was the roar of a gummiship engine. She had received a message from the king several days ago telling her that today was the day that Sora and Riku would finally be coming home. It had been so long since she had last seen the two keyblade masters, nearly two months. When she had last been to Radiant Garden, Sora had been nearly full term with his pregnancy, only three weeks remaining until his due date. Kairi had been so reluctant to leave after that visit, wanting to be there with Sora for the big event, but after a short argument with the King and Sora, she had been sent home. After all, there recently had been a higher number of heartless outbreaks around Radiant Garden and along the gummi routes and everyone agreed that it would be safer for her if she returned to Destiny Islands, and being a Princess of Heart put her safety at a priority. Grudgingly, the redhead accepted the fact that they were making her go back to the islands so long as her friends promised to let her know in anyway possible the moment the baby arrived.

A month after her return home, she felt the familiar tugging at her heart that meant that Sora or Riku was contacting her through their heart connection. It told her that the baby was born, and both Sora and the baby were doing well and Riku would send details as soon as he got the chance. It wasn't long after that that she received the details with the exact time and date of the birth, the weight of the baby and also that Sora would need to have a couple of weeks of recovery before he would be up to space travel. It also told her that the heartless really had started to increase again and King Mickey forbid her, or anyone from travelling via hyperspace for a while, so her visiting them was out of the question. That hadn't been the worse part though. She understood that Riku was probably filling the roll of excited father quite well, but he could have least included what the baby's name and gender was in his letter!

Sitting down at the water's edge, Kairi looked up at the sky, wishing that it was dark enough so that she could make out the stars- the worlds that her friends travelled too so often. It was one of her favourite past times, wondering what each world was like, if Sora or Riku had ever been to that world before, and if she would ever get to see them again. If she didn't, it wouldn't be a big deal because she was already promised that anytime that Sora and Riku had to travel off island together to a place it wouldn't be safe to take their child, she got to be the one to babysit. She couldn't believe how much she cared for this child already and she hadn't even met him or her yet.

Leaning back onto the warm sand, Kairi mentally went over the names that she had discussed with Sora so many times during her visits, trying to remember if there had been any that the brunet had seemed to favour, but had yet to come up with anything that stood out. Before her deep analysis could get too far though, the single sound she had been waiting for all day shot through the air, startling her into a seated position. A wide grin erupted on her face as the redhead jumped up and ran over to the safety zone, as close as she could be to the landing zone without putting herself in danger. She trembled with excitement, the anticipation of seeing her best friends for the first time in months, coupled with the eagerness to meet their new baby just about sent Kairi into a fit.

As she watched the Infinity touch down onto the white sands, Kairi held back a little giggle as she saw the blue and silver ship bounce a little. Obviously Riku was piloting and she could mentally hear Sora teasing his lover and then boasting on how if he had been the one flying how smooth the landing would have been. Gods, how she had missed those two! Patiently she waited for the ramp to slide down, praying that the brunet had enough common sense to allow Riku to carry the baby, because when she saw him…

A loud hiss sounded, indicating that the airlock had been released and it caused Kairi to start jumping up and down in place in excitement. She let out a high pitched squeal as she saw Sora's familiar brown spikes appear in the entrance way and she could barely contain herself as the ramp seemed to take forever lowering, finally showing the entire brunet, and thank heavens there was nothing in his arms.

"Kairi!" he exclaimed with his trademark smile, the redhead taking that as a cue that it was safe to approach the ship. Sora began running down the ramp to greet her, and she ran to meet him halfway. With excited laughter and joyful exclamations, the two friends embraced one another in a tight hug, the first of such that they had gotten to do in nearly four months, before Sora's stomach had gotten to big for them to properly hug.

"I've missed you guys so much!" Kairi said with a wide smile, leaning in and placing a now customary peck on her best friend's lips, the action never failing to draw a deep blush from the brunet.

"I've missed you too, Kai. Man, it's so good to be home again! I've been so looking forward to swimming in the ocean again so much! I would have given anything to have been able to that a couple of months ago," he laughed, "those puddles they consider pools in Radiant Garden just didn't cut it."

Giggling once again, the redhead gave Sora another tight squeeze before pulling away and giving him a good look-over. "Man, you've already lost all of your baby weight! I hope that means that you have lots of room for the picnic I've prepared. You can go swimming after that."

"Picnic?" the brunet asked, his entire demeanour brightening up at the possibility of food. Some things would never change.

Swatting him gently on the arm at the typical response to food, Kairi then looped her arm with his, beginning to lead Sora away from the landing site, smiling when she saw the worried expression that spread across the keyblade master's face after only a few steps away. It was so adorable! Sora was still in the separation anxiety stage! Resisting the desire to make a big deal over the action, the redhead just pulled her best friend along beside her with a laugh. "Don't worry, Sora. We're just going to Paopu Island. Riku knows we are going there and knows the way. He'll be there soon. Your baby is in good hands. Riku is a good daddy; he's got everything under control." She laughed.

"I know, but still…" Sora trailed off. Kairi didn't let him think about it any further as she pulled him along, and after only a few more times of looking back and seeing Riku finally emerge from the Infinity with the large wicker bassinet in his arms, Sora finally relaxed, talking a mile a minute with his best friend, catching up on the past couple of months that they had been separated. In absolutely no time, they were at the bridge and heading over to Paopu Island.

"So, what's up with the picnic? Not that I'm complaining about it or anything," questioned the brunet, seeing the blue and white checked blanket spread over the ground in a nice shaded area, two baskets sitting next to it.

"I thought it might be nice for you to have the chance to relax a little before you go home and get bombarded with visitors, family and uncomfortable questions. I doubt you'll get much time to relax and get something to eat once that happens," she smiled. "So, what did you decide to tell everyone?" Kairi was curious. With the exception of herself, both Sora and Riku's families and a few other select people, no one knew the real reason for Sora's sudden departure this time. They thought that that might be for the best, but this time there would be the small matter of a baby to explain upon his return.

Sora just chuckled as they saw Riku finally round the island from the cove, taking his sweet old time walking over towards the shack and bridge. The older teen had probably taken so long because he had wanted to make sure the cloaking shields were all in place on the Infinity. After all, they didn't want to have to explain the presence of a large ship randomly showing up on their beach. "Well, the people we want to have know already do, or we will tell. If anyone else figures it out on their own, well, we won't deny it. But it's not like we are going to go around and broadcast it. Everyone can just kind of think what they want," Sora said, helping the redhead down onto the blanket before sitting down next to her. "Though, anyone who sees me going swimming will definitely see these stupid stretch marks that won't go away with any amount of frigging cure spells or anything else." Sora grumbled the last bit, sending Kairi into an all new set of giggles.

They continued laughing together, not stopping even when Riku made it to the half way point of the bridge and finally within earshot. "Do I even what to know what you two are laughing about now?" the oldest teen said as he approached his lover and their best friend.

"Sora's stretch marks," Kairi answered with loud laughter.

Sora just rolled his eyes through his laughter as he reached up to take the basket from his lover, a wide smile appearing on his face the moment the basket came within view. Riku gently handed the basket to the sitting brunet before lowering himself to sit between Sora and Kairi, creating a circle, the baby's bassinet being set in the centre of all of them. Instantly, one arm wrapped around the brunet's shoulder. It truly was to be home with their relationship no longer a secret from the redhead. They could be themselves all the time now.

"Are you ready to meet your godson?" Sora questioned with a smile directed at Kairi as he began to fold blankets away from his baby.

Kairi's violet eyes went wide at the word, a single hand going up to cover her mouth in surprise. "Godson?" she whispered in disbelief, tears beginning to form in the corners of her wide eyes.

Gently lifting his tiny son out of the basket with a laugh, Sora looked over at his lover, "See Ku, I told you she would cry. You're on diaper duty tonight." The infant made no noise as he was moved around, Sora pulling him close to his chest for a moment to adjust the single blanket that remained wrapped around the small child. "Are you ready, Kai?" Sora's bright blue eyes shone with happiness and pride as he looked over at the lone female.

"Of course I am," she smiled, moving in closer. The brunet whispered light nothings to the baby as he gentle passed the bundle over to his best friend. "Kairi, this is Hope. Hope, this is your Auntie Kairi," he said as Kairi cradled the small infant in her arms, making sure that the baby's head was supported properly and that Kairi herself was comfortable.

At the sound of his name, the young child's eyes slid open to reveal the brightest eyes Kairi swore she had ever seen. The colour was a sight to behold, a vivid green that mirrored Riku's perfectly but with stunning flecks of Sora's sapphire in there as well. Curious, Kairi pushed the blanket away from the baby's head, laughing lightly when she saw a single patch of the soft light brown hair sticking straight up, proving that the child was indeed Sora's as well. "Well, Hope. It's nice to finally meet you," she whispered as Hope gave a big yawn before his eyes slid closed once more when Kairi began to softly rock him back and forth. Sora and Riku just sat there with smiles on their faces as well, happy to be home with their son.

"He's definitely Sora's son," Riku smirked, pulling Sora even closer. "He can and does sleep every chance he gets and is always ready for food."

"Oh, ha ha," Sora said sarcastically, "Well, he takes after you too, you know. He's stubborn to a fault and full of shit." They both wore wide grins before leaning in and giving each other a light peck.

Kairi just about choked as she tried to hold her laughter in and not wake Hope up. "I've missed this so much, just the three, well, now four of us hanging out on the islands and all that."

"Us too," Riku answered with a real smile, looking from his lover to his son, then to his best friend. "Here, do you want me to take him so you can eat?"

"No," Kairi grinned, turning away from Riku's outstretching arms, "Let me get my baby cuddles out of the way now or else I will have to kidnap him in the middle of the night and never give him back." The three all laughed and joked around for a few moments before Sora's stomach spoke up and demanded food. In his defence, it had been a long trip through hyperspace and he had slept through breakfast this morning. Without waiting for anyone else to comment, the brunet began digging food out of the picnic baskets, serving all of them hearty portions of everything. He smiled when he saw that it was all his favourite foods and most of them looked like Kairi had made them herself.

"So, how did you decide on the name Hope?" Kairi asked, ignoring her own food in favour of more baby cuddles.

"Because that's what he is," Riku said with a distant sparkle in his clear eyes, "He's our hope that one day the worlds will be at peace, and won't need to worry about heartless or nobodies or anything. He's our hope for a safe future where he will be safe to visit all the worlds we will be able to tell him about. They won't be just stories, but real places with real friends."

The explanation drew a very typical Kairi reaction from the redhead, "Aww! That is so adorable! It's so fitting and sweet and perfect!" she smiled.

Sora swallowed a particularly large bite before smiling gently. "Yeah, Riku picked it and when he told me about it, he made me cry. Stupid hormones. But you would not believe some of other ideas that we were given."

"Oh, like what?" she questioned with a smile.

Letting out a single chuckle, the brunet looked down at his son with a smile. "The only name that Donald would ever give us was Fauntleroy, and Goofy couldn't decide between Sora Jr. or Riku Jr. Anything Yuffie would suggest was either named after her or was way beyond perverted."

Laughing, the redhead shifted the infant in her arms slightly, praying he wouldn't wake up. "I think you chose the right name."

The three continued to laugh and catch up with each other as the sun began to set beyond the islands, showering everything in a bright orange light. Eventually, Kairi handed the still sleeping infant over to his birth father so that she could finally eat. Not that she wanted to. They spoke about everything and anything, proving that even though Sora and Riku were no longer hiding their relationship from her, nothing had changed between them. If anything, the unbreakable bond between them only strengthened.

Before the setting sun completely disappeared behind the horizon, Kairi suddenly jumped up, walking over to the bent tree, climbing up onto it without a word.

"Kairi? What are you doing?" Sora questioned with a laugh as she attempted to crawl up the branches in a short sundress without giving her friends a free show. He reached into Hope's basket, pulling out a small bottle. With only a slight touch of magic in his fingertips, the brunet heated the milk just as Hope's eyes fluttered open. The child never made a sound as Riku helped his lover get the baby into a better position for feeding against Sora's chest. The watched Kairi as she reached up into the leaves.

Grunting, the redhead jumped back down onto the sand, this time with a familiar object in her hands and a smile on her face, "Call me superstitious or old fashioned or whatever, but I think that you two need to share a paopu." As she came back over to sit next to the guys, she instantly noticed that both of her friends had blushes of deep scarlet on their faces. "Let me guess, you've already shared one?" There was a slight tone of disappointment in her voice, she had hoped that she would have been able to witness such a specially moment in the lives of her best friends.

"Sorry, Kai. It was a long time ago really. Maybe six months after we got together," Riku told her, running his hands softly over Hope's head as the infant began to suckle on the bottle that Sora held for him.

Kairi just started laughing. "So, that was before I even thought about being with Tidus. Man, I really never stood a chance with either of you."

"I really am sorry that we never told you," Sora whispered. "I wanted to, but I was just so afraid that you would hate us, or reject us or not want anything to do with us."

Scoffing, Kairi just looked down at the bright yellow fruit in her hands, "Like I ever could stop being your friend after all that we've been through together and you've done for me." Her smile was gentle and shone light on the two keyblade masters, filling them with the warmth that could only have come from a Princess of Heart.

"Thanks, Kai," Sora smiled back, handing the bottle over to his silver haired lover before lifting his son up to his shoulder for a burping.

"You're welcome. But that doesn't mean that you can't share another one," she grinned, holding the star shaped fruit out to them, a certain twinkle in her eyes.

"Alright," Riku said, rolling his eyes and trying to mask his smile, but failing miserably. "I'll cut it then."

With a small squee of happiness and a light bounce, the redhead handed the paopu fruit over to the oldest teen, so excited that she was going to get the chance to witness such an important event in her best friend's lives.

Pulling out his pocket knife, Riku began to expertly slice through the thick skin, pealing it away carefully from the flesh of the fruit. Giving his lover a questioning look and receiving a smile and a nod in return, the silver haired teen sectioned the fruit into the required number of pieces just as Sora laid their son back down in his basket. He then grabbed the plates off of the blanket, handing them over to his lover.

"Kairi…" Sora trailed off, looking over at his best friend as Riku handed him a plate with a portion of paopu on it, which he accepted with a smile.

"Yeah?" she responded, wondering why the brunet was stalling so much.

"Will you share it with us?" The words left Sora's lips as he handed the plate over to Kairi with a smile, laughing as he watched the redhead's jaw drop and eyes go wide as saucers.

Riku wasn't so subtle about hiding his laughter, amused at the expression on his friend's face. "We've been talking about this for months, Kai. You mean the world to both of us, and we want you to be a part of both of our lives, and Hope's, forever."

Unable to resist the tears that began to trail down her cheeks, Kairi just stared at her friends. "I…I really don't know what to say, you guys."

"Just say that you'll do it," smiled Sora, making sure that Kairi's shaking hands took the plate.

Wiping away her tears with her free hand, the redhead gave the two boys another dazzling smile, "Alright then."

"Good," Riku added his two cents in with a smile as he handed his lover a plate, keeping the final section of fruit for himself. "Ready?"

The other two nodded as they all picked up their section of the fruit, holding it out to form a complete star between the three of them, just above the baby's basket. Sharing a smile, each teen then brought their portion up to their lips, taking a bite of the juicy fruit. Instantly, the true flavour of the paopu exploded into their mouths, the sweetness proving that their destinies would indeed be intertwined for all time. If the taste had been bitter, it would have meant that this was an incompatible match and their lives would just go on and eventually their lives would lead them down different paths.

Silence accompanied them as they each finished off their part of the paopu, each of them savouring the flavour and the fact that the fruit had been so sweet. Unable to resist the blissful look on his lover's face, Riku leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Sora's lips. Feeling Sora smile into the kiss, the older teen deepened the kiss only briefly, pulling away when he remembered that they had an audience.

Kairi just giggled at the guys display before leaning in herself and placing a short peck on Sora's lips herself before repeating the process with Riku, drawing crimson blushes from both of the boys.

"Thanks, guys. You don't know how much all of this means to me. I love you both so much," the redhead whispered, willing the threatening tears to not escape quite yet.

"We love you too, Kai. We always want you there for us, and for Hope," Sora smiled, pulling them into a three way hug, a sleeping Hope in his basket between them.

"You can count on it," Kairi promised, knowing that she would always mean it. This baby wasn't just a source of Hope for Sora and Riku, but for everyone everywhere. She planned to protect that Hope with her life. Nothing could ever take that hope away from here. Nothing.

Congratulations! It's a boy! The final vote tallies were 26 votes for boy, and 20 for girl. I was so amazed at all the wonderful suggestions for names, I hope that everyone is happy with how it has turned out! To think that this idea started when I pictured a pregnant Sora sipping at a milkshake with Donald and Goofy telling them about raising Huey, Dewey and Louie, and Max. I can't believe it grew into this.

Le sigh. I loved writing this story so much. I need to thank everyone so very much for the constant support throughout this story! I am absolutely astounded that people liked this story so much. I never thought that so many people would take the time to review, favourite and alert this story. Each time my inbox had another one, I always was so happy. My deepest thanks go out to everyone! Thank you all so very much!

Extra special thanks have to go out to Tifa-san for betaing this for me, a lot of sentences wouldn't make much sense if I didn't have her to edit for me. Also to Pahoyhoy. I love you, I miss you, and you are the reason I write. You mean the world to me.

Once again, thank you all so very much and hopefully I'll continue to hear from you all in the future!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.